Flames of War
by Gaurdianangelzelos
Summary: A novelization of FE9:PoR. All Ike had ever desired in life was to one day surpass his father. But when a mysterious young woman suddenly appears, he is thrust into a conflict and destiny that will change the fate of Tellius forever.
1. Prologue: Mercenaries

_Alright, here we go again. Another story! I must be going out of my mind. But aren't all writers that way anyways? And yes, this is a second shot at updating a second time. I edited the story up a little bit to make it slightly better than the first time. Regardless of the first chapter's turn out though, this will stay on the site as it is._

_Anywho, welcome to my attempt at a novelization of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. I love the Fire Emblem games. They are one of my favorite series of all time (right after the Zelda and Tales of series). I've always wanted to put up a good Fire Emblem fic here, and now here is my attempt at it._

_Okay, first things first. The main thing I want to point at that this (unfortunately) is a side project. My main one is a Naruto fic that I'm already well into right now. This fic is mainly a way to be creative and clear out some cobwebs while I have some writers block with my other fic. I can't promise regular updates, but I can promise that I will make an effort to keep up the chapters as quickly as I can. Another thing, despite that this is actually a novelization of the actual game; I will make the fullest effort to keep the dialogue as different as I can. After all, I know you guys don't want to read the exact same stuff you could just start up your Gamecube to see._

_Alright, next. As you probably have seen by the description of the story, this is an Adventure/ROMANCE story. I always like a bit of romance in my fics, and one of the best things about Fire Emblem is its characters' abilities to grow relationships with other characters (CURSE YOU FE10 AND FE11 AND SCREWING THE SUPPORT SYSTEM UP!). And sense this is a novelization of FE9, which means I'm going to try and be as cannon as I can be. That means Ike/Elincia is gonna be the main pairing for this fic. But don't worry. Romance will by no means be the main focus in this story. It'll be more like a little "bonus" for everyone. Other pairings that I believe are cannon (yes, that includes Makalov/Astrid...blah) will be introduced later on. The only exception of "cannon" pairings will involve a certain Lord's younger sister who unfortunately never got a stinkin' choice of who she would end up with in the end of FE10. To be honest, I don't think I'll be accepting many pairing suggestions for this story, but feel free to pop one into a review if you so wish, and I'll make an effort to reply back whether there is any chance of the relationship or not (I will be honest, but I won't be cruel). Well, that's all I can think of for now concerning pairings._

_On a less interesting note (possibly) I will (again possibly) add in some extra chapters in this story to fill in some gaps that the game had. These chapters will mostly be centering of character development and maybe even some miscellaneous side adventures as well. It all depends on my own creativity and the time and place._

_Besides that, I think that's all I can think of. If I remember anything that I didn't put on this chapter, I'll be sure to post them in the next. Without anything further to say, let's get on with the story. I hope you enjoy this first chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance in any way, shape, or form. It belongs to the good (and by good I mean awesome) people of Nintendo and Intelligent Systems._

* * *

"Dad! Ike!"

A young girl of about the age of fourteen trotted through the fort, gazing around her with a slightly irritated look on her face. Though young, it was apparent to anyone that laid eyes on her that she would one day become a striking woman of incredible beauty. She wore a modest yellow dress and skirt along with a small blue cape that just dropped past her shoulder blades. Her light brown hair fell to her shoulders and her bright blue eyes darted around the fortress for any signs of either her brother or father. She also held a small basket with both hands which contained several sandwiches neatly packed within.

"Where could those two be?" Mist asked herself, finally turning toward the gates of the fortress. She had searched the entire fort for Ike and her father, so that only left the option that the two had gone off into the forest to train. All she could hope for now was that they would be at their normal training spot over by the local stream. She had been hoping to surprise them with a personalized meal prepared all on her own, but she _had_ to choose the day when they decided to run off with each other. Alright, so sandwiches weren't too difficult to prepare, but it was the thought that counts, wasn't it?

Just as she was about to leave the fortress, Mist caught sight of a magnificent horse trotting toward her from down the path. Atop the steed was a beautiful but at the same time undoubtedly strong looking woman with long and red hair. At her side hung a steel axe which she always kept close at hand whenever she was out on a job. From behind her Mist caught sight of another rider with green hair on a brown mare, trotting at a slightly slower pace.

"Titania! Oscar!" Mist shouted as the two approached. Both knights smiled kindly at the young girl before them and slightly quickened their horses' paces to close the distance between them quicker.

The red haired woman's eyes softened as the young girl approached her. Looking at her as she was now, one would never have guessed that she was a skilled warrior and renowned across the land for her skills in battle, second only to Greil himself. "How have you been, Mist?" Titania asked, bringing her stallion to a halt and climbing off of it to bring herself down to earth. "Take care of the fortress while we were gone?"

"Not much to take care of here," Mist mumbled back. "It's been so _boring _here this morning. Rhys, Boyd, and Rolf ran off somewhere while I wasn't looking, Shinon and Gatrie are still not back from their assignment yet, and I think Ike and Dad went off training when I wasn't around…"

"Sorry about that," Titania said with a slightly embarrassed smile, looking around and seeing her point. "Did you happen to hear when Rhys is going to get back?"

Mist was about to inquire why she wanted to know, but her eyes finally drifted over to Oscar and she spotted the red splotches that had seeped in between his green armor.

"Oscar! Are you alright?" she cried out in horror.

The green haired man merely smiled back down at Mist kindly, waving his hand at her as if to bat away a fly. "It's just a scratch, don't worry about it. I've had much worse," he said reassuringly, as if the wound was no more serious than a splinter. "We've already dressed it with a vulnerary and all we need now is for Rhys to put some finishing touches on it. The only thing that's plaguing me now is my own hunger…"

"Well I don't have a staff, but I can fix that!" Mist said excitedly, immediately holding up her basket and handing it to Oscar. "There are sandwiches inside of that. I was going to give them to Ike and Dad, but they decided to run off without telling me anything. You just eat as many as you'd like and get your strength back."

"I'll be sure to," Oscar said with a chuckle, gratefully accepting the basket from Mist.

"That's our Mist, always taking care of us. If you ask me, without you this whole mercenary team would completely fall to pieces. If you are still searching for Ike and Greil though, Oscar and I saw them not too far down the road at their normal training spot. You know the one," Titania said.

"Really? Thanks!" Mist said gratefully.

With that said, she darted down the road with surprising speed. Though she was not yet old enough to take part in the various job requests that the mercenary company accepted each day, she was by no means out of shape by any stretch of the imagination, a bonus to being raised in an environment consisting of mostly hired mercenaries. Mist had lived in secluded areas all her life and she could hardly remember back enough before they took residence in Crimea. Mercenary life was all she knew, and to be perfectly frank it suited her just fine, with the exception of the few actual dangerous missions that her friends and family had to accept at times.

Her father was known throughout the region as not just leading one of the best, but _the_ best mercenary company in that part of Crimea and debatably the entire country. As a result, competition was few and far between, and near every request from bandit raids to catching petty thieves went straight to them.

Many of the jobs often requested Greil himself to come to their aid. While the Greil Mercenaries were famous in the region, its commander was a legend. Never before had anyone seen a more powerful warrior. No matter the enemy, each and every one of them would fall to his axe. More often than not, most men would cease any and all trouble making just by hearing a whisper of his name. She was proud of her father as well to the fact that his blood ran through her own veins as well.

The sound of cracking wood suddenly reached her ears from further down the road. Though it may not seem much, if there was something else that Mist could pride herself in, it was her hearing. She can often pick up the slightest sounds with little to no difficulty. Her expert hearing once actually resulted in a slap on the back of Boyd's head after he had mumbled something about wondering if Mist would ever learn how to cook a decent soup during supper. Of course she knew that the older boy was just teasing (for the most part) but that didn't mean that he should just abandon his manners all together.

Finally, she reached the clearing and stopped, taking a moment to watch her two family members do battle with each other. Her father held a wooden sword tightly with one hand, batting off any attacks that his opponent would make. His facial features were hard, strict, and strong, but at the same time were loving and kind as well. He had the same color brown hair as Mist had and wore a black tunic, a long yellow cape, and blue shoulder armor.

Standing opposite of the larger man was a young man of about seventeen years old, wearing a determined and slightly frustrated scowl on his face, her brother Ike. He was very handsome. He was tall but not gigantic, had strong facial features like their father, and well built for his age, though not enough to make him look overly buff. He had messy blue hair which Mist bet he had never combed in his entire life, though he was able to pull it off well enough. Around his forehead was a dark green headband and he wore a blue tunic. Just as his father did, he too wore a long cape, though instead of yellow his was red. Unlike his father as well, he did not hold his wooden sword with one hand, instead grasping it firmly with both.

Ike suddenly leapt from where he was standing and charged at his father. He swung a powerful side swipe, though Greil idly batted it away with an amused look on his face, knocking his son off balance. Not one to ever give in; Ike prepared to run forward again, though stopped just in time to dodge a horizontal swipe of his father's own sword this time. With a loud grunt, Ike made three attacks which were once again blocked easily by his father. On the last strike, the two swords stayed connected. Ike grunted loudly as he tried to overpower his father, but it didn't take long for Greil to push him back, following up with a quick thrust at Ike's chest. The blue haired swordsmen staggered backwards a little too quickly and finally landed backwards on the ground. Mist couldn't help but giggle as his brother angrily sat back up to go another round.

"Come now, Ike," Greil said looking at his son with a playful grin on his face. "I'm sure that you can do better than that. Or are you already calling it quits?"

As a response, Ike jumped to his feet once again and attacked his father with even more ferocity than ever, though Greil continued to block Ike's attacks, not even moving from where he was standing.

"Dad! Ike!" Mist yelled out, finally deciding to make her presence known. Her father looked over in her direction idly, smiling when she continued her way down the hill.

"Mist, what are you doing out here?" Greil asked kindly as he watched his daughter approach her.

Ike's blue eyes suddenly flashed, seeing his opening. With a loud cry, Ike raised his wooden sword above his head and brought it down full force towards his father. He was shocked to find though that his attack ended up hitting nothing but air as he staggered forward. Bringing back his own wooden sword, Greil stuck a blow right in the center of Ike's back, knocking him motionlessly to the ground.

"Ike!" Mist shouted worriedly as she ran toward her brother. She knelt down to get a better look at him. For a moment, both her teal eyes and Ike's blue eyes met as he struggled to raise himself from the ground. A second later, Ike's eyelids closed as he slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

_A sweet, melodious voice suddenly reached Ike's ears, shaking him from his sleep. With a small groan, he opened his eyes and looked around, confused to see that he was now lying in a bed that was placed in a small and modest looking shack. Gazing around further, he turned to his right and caught sight of the source of the music. A woman sat beside his bed with blue hair, much like his own, that fell to her shoulders. When she spied Ike awake, she gave a kind and loving smile down toward him._

"_Why, good morning sleepy head. Have a nice nap?" she asked, never dropping her smile._

"_Mother," Ike whispered weakly to himself. Though just as he did, his heart skipped a beat as the scenery around him began to blur, and soon enough his mother's own image as well…_

* * *

Ike's eyes opened slowly, seeing a large and bright blue sky above his head instead of a brown roof like the one in his dream. He realized though that the song that had been in his dreams still remained…though this time with a different voice.

Sitting up, he felt a wet rag fall from atop his forehead and down beside him. Glancing around, he finally turned his head to look behind him and he once again found the source of the singing. This time though, it was from his sister, who was happily picking flowers not even ten steps away from where he lay.

"Mist…" Ike said, rising to his feet.

Upon hearing her name, Mist glanced up and she beamed, seeing her brother finally up. "Well good morning sleepy head. Have a nice nap?" she asked teasingly, smiling even more brightly.

For a moment, Ike just stood there and continued to gaze down at Mist in mild surprise. He had never before noticed the striking resemblance that she shared with their mother. Their smile, their voice, their personality…though Ike was the one to inherit his mother's blue hair, it was obvious which of the two who truly took after her.

"You were out for nearly ten minutes," Mist said, setting the flowers aside. "You and Father go too hard on each other during training…"

Ike took a seat beside his sister on the grass before answering, not taking his eyes off of her for a moment in case the same vision of his mother which was becoming more and more blurry as he grew older might appear once again."It's the only way that I can become stronger," he replied simply, not one to ever have much to say at one time.

After a few seconds, Mist finally became aware of Ike's stare and blushed slightly. "What?" she asked, growing flustered with his staring.

"Nothing," Ike said, chuckling at his sister. "I…was just thinking about mother."

"Oh," Mist said, dropping her gaze and resumed picking her flowers. Ike could have hit himself. Their mother had died when both of them were at an extremely young age. Though Ike had been old enough to be able to remember small moments and characteristics about her, Mist had been so young that she was not able to remember anything about her even if she tried. Ike knew that she often put on a strong face for both his and his father's sake, but there were times when even he could see through her ploys.

"Sorry," Ike said, leaning back onto his hands and laying back on the grass. "I wasn't really thinking when I said that."

"Ike, you don't think that often in the first place," Mist said, her old teasing tone returning to her voice. "And don't worry about it. I'm more worried about you right now. Are you sure you're not hurt?"

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine," Ike replied.

"About time too!" a deep voice called from their right. Both siblings simultaneously looked from where the voice had called out. Slowly walking towards them with the two practice swords in one hand was Greil with an amused look on his face. Ike quickly leapt to his feet, hoping not to let himself appear weak or needy in sight of his father. After all, he hadn't requested this sparing match for just any reason…

"Father, don't give Ike such a hard time. Especially after you knocked him out!" Mist said disapprovingly. "Those things may be practice swords, but they still can hurt someone if-"

"Now, now, settle down, Mist," Greil said. "If this is too much for him, then there's no way that he'd make it as an actual mercenary."

"That's still no reason to-"

"Mist, I already told you that I'm fine," Ike said interrupting his sister. "Just calm down and stop worrying."

"See? The pup says he's fine," Greil said with an approving nod. Next, he took one of the wooden swords in his hand and tossed it to Ike, which he caught the handle while in mid air. "Now that you're awake, we can start again."

"You got it," Ike replied, already preparing himself.

"What?" Mist asked in disbelief, looking between the two of them. "You just woke up from being knocked out, Ike. Shouldn't you rest for a little while?"

"I'm not going to give up until I get at least a single hit in," Ike replied, not even looking away from the Commander of the Greil Mercenaries. If there was one thing he had learned after countless sparing lessons from his father, it was to never let down your guard or take your eyes off of your opponent. Today wasn't the first time he's ever been knocked out cold during sparring.

"That's what I like to hear!" Greil said, raising his "blade" as well. "But it takes more than just a strong resolve to…"

Greil suddenly trailed off as he looked to his right, his ears catching some small rustles from within the bushes.

"Stinkin' poison ivy…stupid random root sticking out of the ground…those two must be working together to get someone. What are the chances that they happen to be right next to each other in the ideal spot…?" the voice of a young man said from within the forest. A moment later, from out of the bushes a tall, green haired young man about Ike's age walked out scratching his bare, muscular forearms. He quickly straightened back up when he noticed the three watching him. Like Ike, he was well built and tall, and had on green pants, boots, and a red shirt. Also like Ike, he also wore a brown headband across his forehead.

"Ha! Here you three are!" the young man said with a smile, running toward the three and waving. At his side was an iron ax in a leather sheathe to protect his leg. When he finally got to them, he rested his hand on the axe as if in pride.

"Hey Boyd, what are you doing here, Boyd?" Mist asked.

"Titania said that you were checking up on these two and I got chosen to see why you hadn't returned yet," he said, giving a respectful nod to Greil and a friendly wave to Ike. Boyd was the youngest of the active mercenaries in Ike's father's company and the middle child of two others. He and Ike had developed a kind of friendly rivalry with each other, spanning from weapon combat to an eating contest at one point between the two. Ike had come up victorious on that occasion, though he was the one to lose his lunch later.

Boyd's attitude was not what one would presume a typical mercenary would have. Though Ike had admittedly not developed many people skills, spending most of his time nowadays training and not in the nearest town which was a three hour travel by horseback, he had learned on his few occasions of interacting with the townsmen that most viewed mercenaries as cold hearted killers who wanted nothing but a quick way to earn a livelihood. While Ike couldn't say that he had met many mercenaries outside of the ones under his father's led, he could say quite easily that Boyd would not fit any typical description of the sort. Though it was no secret that the green haired youth enjoyed a good scuffle or two now and again, it seemed that he would at times rather sit down and crack a few bad jokes from time to time. Boyd was childish, irresponsible, and sometimes even goofy. But at the same time he was a good comrade that would fight to the death for the sake of the ones he cared for.

"Oh, I just got caught up with talking with Ike and Dad," Mist responded back to Boyd's question. "I suppose I just forgot to head back when I got here. Not to mention that I had to wait for Ike to-"

"That's okay, Mist," Ike said, interrupting his sister before she could finish. Last thing he needed now was for Boyd to be giving him hard time for being knocked out. Though he was not in the least on bad terms with him, there were always some things ond would rather not have the one you compete with on a regular basis to know. Especially subjects concerning your father beating you senseless with little to no difficulty and knocking you out with a single strike.

"But it doesn't matter anymore, does it? You said yourself you were okay. You should be well rested enough though with how long Dad knocked you out cold," Mist said mischievously, ignoring Ike's protest.

Ike stared at Mist in dismay while Boyd buckled in laughter, causing Ike's face burn red in anger and embarrassment. Now he knew that he was in for some harassment today. He didn't even want to think about what Shinon would say if he caught wind of the news.

"Alright, that's enough verbal abuse for Ike for one day," Greil said, suddenly producing a wooden axe from the pack he was carrying. He occasionally used it to help Ike get accustomed to how an axe wielder would battle and it was his weapon of choice. "You came just in time actually, Boyd. You can be Ike's sparring partner for this round," he said, tossing the youth the wooden weapon.

"What?" Boyd asked, his eyes flashing over momentarily to Ike and the sword in his hand. Ike felt a small sense of pride at the way that Boyd was looking at him. It was apparent by the way that he was examining his sword that his was slightly intimidated by him. Not to mention that the fact he would be facing Ike under the watchful eye of Commander Greil himself probably made him feel a little rattled as well.

"Ike needs someone around to spar with who's a little closer to his own skill," Greil explained as he took a couple steps back so he couldn't interfere with the already decided match up with Mist following close behind. Though the comment was not meant to, it was a slight wound to Ike's pride. He knew perfectly well that he was not a match for his father as he was now. Not yet anyways. But he had vowed long ago in his childhood that he would surpass his father one day. He was not as strong as he was yet, but he will be. Eventually. It was his dream after all. And after he was defeated, he would say to him in his usual gruff voice, 'That's my boy'.

"Well, I don't know if a trained professional such as myself should be sparring with a rookie like Ike," Boyd said with a shrug, "but I don't refuse a challenge. Let's see what you've got. Don't hold back on me."

"You don't have to worry abut that, Boyd," Ike replied back, once again readying his weapon.

For a moment, the two young men faced each other, both slowly circling around the other. Mist stood off to the side watching intently while his father sat on an old stump with a canteen of water, watching the two with a critical eye. When it became clear to Ike that Boyd was not going planning on making the first move, he darted forward at Boyd and swung a horizontal strike at his abdomen. His opponent though dodged the swipe with relative ease and raised his own weapon to attack. Ike was able to raise his own weapon once again and knocked back the swing, both of the young men retreating at the same time to put some distance between each other.

"Not bad, Ike," Boyd said approvingly, though he kept a friendly, albeit snide sneer on his face as well. "Keep it up and I may actually let you spar with me again some time."

"Whatever you say, Boyd," Ike said with a confident grin back. Though it was tough to admit, if their battle came down to brute strength alone, Boyd would be the victor. The axe wielder was stronger than him by only the smallest margin. Of course at the same time, Ike knew that he was the faster of the two. His wooden blade was also more convenient and versatile as well. He could attack at basically any angle he chose with just a twist of his wrist. Boyd's axe on the other hand had an edge on only one side of the weapon, while the other was just regular wood. Two out of three factors were in Ike's favor, and he was beginning to feel his confidence grow.

"Come on, Ike!" Mist yelled from beside their father. "Boyd's got nothing on you!"

"Hey! Quite shrimp!" he yelled over to Mist embarrassingly, but he soon turned back to Ike. "So, are you just going to stand there admiring me or are we actually going to continue?" Boyd asked, brandishing his weapon. Ike had to admit, despite Boyd's cocky and sometimes arrogant attitude, he knew how to use an axe. If Ike wanted to defeat him, he would have to be cautious.

Dashing at Boyd once again, their two weapons clashed and rebounded against the other. The two immediately bounced back though and connected weapons again. This time though, they stayed connected and the two pushed in an attempt to over power the other.

_Here we go, _Ike said as he felt himself slowly loosing out to Boyd's superior strength. Finally, at the very last moment, Ike pulled back his sword and leapt backwards. As a result, Boyd stumbled forward and clumsily raised his weapon to block the first of Ike's attacks. The next two he blocked as well, but a quick thrust to the chest and a swift strike to his hand changed that. With a small yelp in pain, Boyd dropped his weapon and clutched his hand. He was about to say something to Ike, but he stopped as he noticed Ike's wooden blade held up inches from his throat. On the opposite end of the practice weapon, Ike wore a pleased smile of accomplishment.

"...Well…pretty good for your first try at least," Boyd said, still rubbing his injured hand. Ike could tell though that the injury would be fixed up new by the beginning of the next morning, maybe sooner if Rhys took a look at it when they got back.

"Sheesh, Boyd. I never knew how much of a weakling you were compared to Ike," Mist said with a giggle, which prompted a grin from Ike's father as well as he watched the two.

"Sh-shut up!" Boyd shouted back, his face getting even redder than it had been before.

"Don't worry, Boyd. You did perfectly fine. Both of you did" Greil said this time, giving both young men an approving nod. "Boyd, you can take a break."

Boyd let escape a relieved sigh. "Don't mind if I do." Before leaving he turned back to Ike and extended his non injured hand toward Ike. "Nice spar."

"Yes," Ike said, grasping the hand and shaking it. "If you ever want a rematch, I'll be waiting."

"Count on it," Boyd laughed before walking off toward Ike's father and Mist.

"Well, you're swordsmanship seems to be improving well enough," his father said critically. Ike was aware that this was probably the best complement that he could ask from his father. "Just don't forget everything that went through your head and how it felt. You won't always be sparing with a friend for for the sake of training. One day you'll actually face a real enemy with the intent to kill you. It won't always be that easy."

"Yeah, I know," Ike said back, nodding.

Greil nodded in his approvement while rising to his feet from where he sat and picking up a wooden sword of his own. "And now that you're warmed up, I think its time for the two of us to have a little rematch of our own."

"I was hoping that you'd say that," Ike said, readying himself once more.

"Well come on! Give it your all!" Greil said with a hearty laugh.

Without giving his father any time to prepare an attack of his own, Ike charged forward and made two swipes at his father. Just as before though, Greil parried back Ike's attacks and retaliated with his own. Though Ike wasn't actually able to launch a counter attack in return, he was able to actually block the attacks this time and retreat slightly unscathed.

"Not bad, Ike. Maybe I should knock you out more often. You come back with more fight in you than before," Greil said raising his weapon once again. "You going to give me a challenge this time around?"

Ike didn't respond. It was not usually his style to respond back more than a few words to his opponent anyways. Boyd was an exception just because he was Boyd. This time around though, Ike knew that he couldn't waste time with words. His father was too skilled for that. But still…something didn't sit right in Ike with how his father was facing him so far.

The young swordsman's eyes widened in surprise as his father suddenly dashed forward from where he was standing and made a powerful down stroke right toward Ike's head. Ike swiftly dodged the attack and retaliated with his own. The advantages that he had gained while facing Boyd had disappeared this time around. His father out strengthened him and had years of experience to fall back on. Not to mention the fact that he had taught each and every one of Ike's moves himself didn't help his odds at all. If he wanted to win, he would have to rely on his speed like he had with Boyd. Otherwise he wouldn't stand a chance.

Ike stumbled backwards and let out a low grunt as he was struck in the middle of the chest with Greil's sword. He did not allow himself to fall though, instead bouncing back and attacking Greil with even swifter strikes than ever before.

"Move your feet more," Greil instructed as he continued to fend off each of Ike's attacks. "And for goodness sake boy, loosen your grip! Your body is so tense that it can't reach its highest capability!"

Ike wordlessly obeyed his father's command as he continued to exchange blows with Greil. After doing so, he immediately noticed a jump in his fighting, becoming closer and closer to hitting his mark each time. It just proved to Ike even more just how great his father was at swordplay. Each move was calculated within his head much faster than Ike could dream of…

He suddenly spun out of the way of one of Greil's swipes and maneuvered around him. Seeing his chance, he swung several blows which were impressively still blocked by his father even with them coming from his blind spot. Grasping his sword once again with two hands, Ike made a powerful upward slice to hit away his father's weapon. When it came down once again, Ike parried it once and then with one last mighty swing, knocked the sword from out of his father's hand, the wooden weapon dropping to the ground a few feet away.

For a moment, Ike just stared down at his father's sword dumbly and then looked back at his own that still was in his hand. His spirits suddenly roared like an inferno within him louder than he had ever thought possible, but they were quickly smothered away when he looked back up to his father. The entertained glint in his eyes still remained and his smile had not dropped, even as he held his hands up in surrender. This was not the look of pride that Ike had envisioned when he finally defeated his father...

"Ike!" Mist yelled, running up to her brother with Boyd right on her heels, looking dumbfounded by what he had just witnessed. "I can't believe it! You were amazing!"

Ike didn't respond back to his sister, his blue eyes still locked onto Greil. "Father…you were holding back, weren't you," he stated rather than actually asking.

"What?" Mist asked surprised, looking between the two. "Is that true?"

"Well good," their father said with an impressed smile. "If you could tell, then that only means that you're improving faster than I had first realized."

Just as his spirits had soared so high just moments ago, so then did they fall rock bottom. He had allowed himself to foolishly believe that he had actually surpassed his father in battle. Ike should have known better. His father was more than twice his own age with more battle experience than Ike could even be compared with. He had fought in countless jobs for their mercenary company and quite probably took part in countless battles as a hired hand in armies. Not that he could ever be sure. Though it had been hinted to him by both Titania and Greil himself that he had once been a part of some army at one point in his life, he had never stated which one or when. To be completely honest, his father's past was a complete mystery to Ike, yet something nudged at the back of his mind for him not to push for it. He would find out someday. He just had to be patient.

"You know," Boyd said, rubbing his chin and nodding to the three in front of him, "I was holding back too. I just thought I should go easy on him because he's a rookie and all, you know?"

"Right, Boyd," Mist said, gazing at him suspiciously. "By the way, how's that hand treating you?"

Boyd didn't respond, just shrugging back with a sheepish grin on his face. Boyd was not one to argue unless the subject was worth taking time to argue about, specifically concerning about his family or the other mercenaries.

"So, Father," Ike said, finally seeing the moment he has been waiting for the entire day. "You said yourself that I'm further along then you had expected. Does that mean that you think that I may be ready?"

"To take on a job?" Greil asked back, crossing his arms and rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Ike recognized this to be a good sign. In the past, he would have only received a swift "no" and nothing more from his father if he requested to take part in a job. This time though, his father seemed to be actually contemplating the matter.

"Boyd is already out there helping," Ike said motioning towards other boy next to him. "I promise that I won't disappoint you and help in any way I can."

"Well…" Greil said, this time crossing his arms. "I suppose that you have been working hard lately…alright, Ike. You win. Starting tomorrow, you'll be taking on jobs along with everyone else as an official member of the Greil Mercenaries."

"Alright, Ike! Just like you always wanted," Mist said excitedly. Even Boyd seemed pleased with the news, though his smile seemed to have a slight mischievous glint to it which slightly worried Ike.

"But until then, all three of you still have chores to take care of back at base," Greil said, walking over to his fallen sword on the ground and picking it up. "And I better not see you slacking off in your training, Ike, now that you're finally a part of the team. If anything, I expect you to work even more diligently than before. I don't want my son losing an arm while I'm not around on a job."

"You don't' have to worry about that. I'll work ten times harder than everyone else," Ike said confidently.

"Yeah, like that's actually going to happen. It takes you forever to even get up in the morning," Mist said with a giggle.

Ike looked back at his sister angrily while Boyd and Greil both chuckled together at Ike's own dismay. After a few more moments, the four of them made their way back down the road and back to the base.

It wasn't until later did Ike learn that the reason Boyd had been smiling earlier was because he had replaced the fighter as the newest member of the company. Apparently, that meant that he was stuck with all tedious work such as cleaning weapons and keeping track of vulneraries. But that was fine with him. He had taken his first step toward surpassing his father. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

* * *

_Well, there you have it folks. Hmm...A little short for my liking, but it is the first chapter after all. I'm sure that I'll make up for it in due time. _

_I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of my fic. As usual for each and every fic out there, please take a few moments to review. It is usually all one author needs to inspire him/herself to write more or find inspiration._

_Well, with nothing else to say, I again hope you enjoyed this first chapter and hope you are looking forward to the next one. Until then, folks!_

GAZ


	2. Chapter 1: The Battle Begins

_Hello everyone, and welcome back (or maybe just welcome for the first time) to my Fire Emblem PoR story. Thank you for coming and reading my work, I really appreciate it._

_Okay, first things first. I'd like to talk about Ike's attitude in this fic. Let's all admit, Ike doesn't have the most developed personality in the game, despite being its main character. He's usually just hell bent revenge and outside of that is all business in battle. As such, I may have to improvise a little bit on how I personally view his character (and all the other ones in the game as well). Since it's common and understandable that multiple people often have different interpretations on one character, this may cause some characters to be a little OOC to some people. I' m going to try and keep the OOC-ness down for the most part, but I will be trying to delve more into each character and give them traits that we may have not seen in the game (don't worry, Ike won't suddenly start sobbing over emo thoughts in the middle of some battle in this here fic, though there probably will be some mild angsting). If I write something and you in fact don't think its in character, review and tell me what you think I did wrong (be polite and specific please) and I'll take it into consideration for future chapters._

_Speaking of reviews, it brings me to my second request for this chapter. Please, please, please, __**please**__ don't write any spoilers in your reviews. There may be one of you out there who's actually reading about Fire Emblem for the first time, haven't finished the game, or haven't played the sequel Radiant Dawn. Please try to refrain writing spoilers, as its common to read some reviews before reading the fic itself to see if it's any "good"._

_Well, I don't have anymore else to say at this point now, so I'll just let you get on with the reason why you came here in the first place. Hope you enjoy it._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Nintendo or Fire Emblem or the characters or Mario or anything else that would be considered of actual worth._

* * *

Ike let out a quiet curse as he rolled onto his side, lying on his bed and looking out into the clear, starlit sky that lay just outside his window. Closing his eyes once again, he tried his best to find sleep but somehow was not able to doze off. Every sound that he had grown accustomed through his years at night seemed to have somehow become ten times louder than ever before. Outside he could hear the sound of various nocturnal animals going about their nightly routines. At one point he had heard the screech of some type of bird before catching its first meal of the night. His ears also picked up Boyd's loud snores coming from the next room. How either of his brothers could ever stand sharing the same bedroom with him he would never know.

Of course, it was hard to blame his lack of sleep on Boyd this time. Every fiber of his body was awake and tense, knowing what was to come the next day: his first job as a mercenary. As a hired sword whose purpose was to take the lives of other men, more often than not. But it was fine. He trusted his father above anyone else in the entire world, and he knew that he would never lead him astray…If his father took a job that required him to take another's life, it meant that it was for the greater good. Greil had oftentimes turned away high paying jobs that were considered "too dirty" by his standards, and he was proud of his father for it. Not only was he a great warrior, but he was considerate and wise as well. He was everything a true leader should be, and it was for these reasons that Ike's life goal was to someday surpass him.

Grunting finally in frustration, Ike sat up on the edge of his bed and leaned forward, clasping his hands together. He had lost track long ago just how long it has been sense night had fallen. As far as he knew, dawn was just around the corner. Of course, at the same time it might not even be past midnight yet.

The reason for Ike's anxiety did not stem from fear of his own life. No, his father had taught him early in his childhood that being a mercenary was not the job of one hoping for a long and prosperous lifespan. Though the thought of death still frightened him as it did for all sentient beings, he had taught himself how to break through that wall of fear and carry out what he knows is right. It was the same strength that his father possessed, and he was proud that he carried on his bravery. No, his agitation was fueled by the thought of not living up to his father's standards. Though Greil was a man of kindness and virtue, he was strict as well. He never hesitated to hand out punishments when they were called for, which Ike had learned quickly at a very young age. The following day would be his first test. If he messed up in anyway, if he put the mission's success or even more serious his companions' own lives at risk, it would be back to square one for him with the task of convincing his father a _second _time to let him on a job. And that would probably take years to accomplish again…

With one final sigh, Ike rose to his feet and grabbed his cape, hooking it around his neck before making his way toward the door. Just before he grasped the doorknob, he hesitated and looked back behind him. Up against his dresser leaned an iron sword, still in its sheathe. Walking back, grabbed the blade and made his way out the door.

When finally out in the chilly night air, he took a few steps out into the central yard where he grasped the sword at his side by the hilt and unsheathed it, gazing at it silently. It wasn't by any means a well crafted sword, it wasn't even that powerful. But even though Ike's father's mercenary company was the most popular in the area, it did not mean that they were a rich organization. Much of the food that they ate was hunted by Shinon or grown in a garden that Oscar had made. All of their money was usually spent on replacing armor that was past its use or stocking up when there was a shortage of food during the winter. Because of this, most of their weapons were usually sub par. His father's own personal axe was the only weapon in their possession that was of any real worth. But as his father always said: "A blade is only as great as the one who wields it."

Taking a few steps out into the center of the fort, Ike swung the sword slowly in two horizontal slices, getting accustomed to its weight. Finally, Ike bent his knees and held the sword over his head, picturing in his mind a hulking brigand standing opposite of him, brandishing its axe wildly. Dashing forward, Ike made a powerful downward strike at his invisible opponent, then followed up with a quick upwards slice. Turning to his side, he blocked another imaginary weapon and batted it away, following up with a hard thrust where his foe's heart would be.

"A little old, aren't you, for playing imagination," a voice said from behind him.

Ike's eyes widened in shock as he drew back the sword in his hand and prepared to swing his entire body around to cut down whoever was behind him. He stopped in mid swing as a powerful arm grabbed him by the wrist. Now with his body turned, Ike could finally learned the identity of the man. It was his father. Letting go of his arm, Greil next pulled back his fist and connected a weak but still unexpected punch to the side of Ike's head. Staggering back in shock, he rubbed his ear in pain before looking back at his father.

"What was that for?" Ike grumbled to his father.

"For being stupid," Greil replied back simply. "When you are caught off guard by an enemy behind you, don't blindly swing your sword behind you. Even if you _were _lucky enough to severely wound him, you're head would already be rolling on the ground. Instead, put some distance between yourself and your opponent and then face him. Better to not get in a strike at all than to lose an arm or even your life."

Well this was turning out well for Ike. The night before his first job and he was already making mistakes in front of his father. This was looking bad.

"What are you doing out here so late?" Ike questioned, sheathing the sword once more.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Greil replied back with small grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. "I'm out because your sister apparently had a nightmare and thought I might as well take a short walk. But what's your excuse? You think you should really be out this late when you've got your first job tomorrow morning?"

"…I couldn't sleep," Ike explained, casting his eyes off to the side.

"I see," his father replied, but instead of looking to this side as Ike had, he looked up to the sky and at the many stars overhead. "Nervous about your first mission, I see." To this Ike made no reply. He didn't trust himself to say anything that would help him in the situation. "It's alright to be a little bit on edge before a job," Greil finally said, looking back at his son. "I'll openly admit that the night before my first job was not a relaxing one. Don't worry about a thing. Eventually, you'll get used to it all and will be snoring as loudly as Boyd. I swear, the older that boy gets the more thunderous his snores become."

For the first time that night, Ike let out a small chuckle. Now here was what Ike believed was what his father did best, just _being _a father. Though he had lost his mother at a young age for reasons that his father would not explain, Greil had made up for that small empty space tenfold. Whenever either he or Mist ever needed him, he would always be right beside them with a wise word and a strong arm to hold onto. _This _was why he idolized him. _This _was why he must surpass him, to show that his father's kindness was not in vain.

"Why don't we work off some of that excess energy?" Greil finally asked, walking over to a barrel that was placed against the house and having a seat atop of it. "Show me some of those attacks that you were doing before. You get sloppy when I'm not around watching you."

With a smile, Ike bent his knees once again and lashed out at the empty air, catching out of the corner of his eye every now and again a pleased smile from his father.

* * *

"So, you ready?" Ike asked himself in the small mirror on his dresser. Ike had never been one for personal possessions, so his room lacked everything except for the bare necessities. There was a bed, a dresser, a mirror atop that dresser that was rarely used, yet besides that the number of items that he had in his room were kept to a bare minimum.

He had also been described often by other members of the mercenary team as a man of little words. It wasn't as though Ike believed that words were a useless necessity in life or that communication with others was beneath him. It was just that he was under the firm belief that actions truly do at times speak louder than words. It was for that reason that he had waited until a successful training session with his father to propose the question to actually join him on a job.

Now that he had finally reached the morn of that point, he was surprised how well at ease he felt. In the past when he thought of taking part in his first job, he had thought he would feel nerve wrecked, excited, and even a bit afraid as well. But now, he felt perfectly at peace, as if he had carried out countless other missions before now. Perhaps it was because of his and his father's late night training session that felt as if had taken place not even an hour ago. Maybe it was a false sense of security that would soon be overcome with unspeakable fear once on the battlefield. He didn't know. Nevertheless, no matter what emotions would befall him that day, he would be sure to carry out his mission to the end.

Walking out the door and into the new morning air, he took in one last deep breath before looking around. Glistening morning dew now littered the ground at his feet, and the sky above was a pristine light blue with the sun still low in the east. To say that it was a good day was an understatement. Even Rhys, the mercenary team's lone sickly healer, would be able to step outside and need not worry about getting hypothermia or heat stroke which he seemed to get either or in near any type of weather. Ike just hoped that it was an omen of good fortune for the coming day.

"Hi, Ike!"

Ike started at the sudden voice, turning quickly to find its source. A couple yards away from him stood Rolf, a young, green haired youth just about two years younger than Mist, wearing a wide grin. Rolf was the youngest brother consisting of Boyd, Oscar, and himself. The young man seemed to have become a kind of hybrid of his two siblings, while still retaining unique qualities that he could call his own. Though he was not as much of a goofball as Boyd, he kept his middle sibling's constant cheerful disposition which Ike sometimes sensed the youth was proud of, though the young boy would never openly admit it to anyone, let alone Boyd himself. In addition, he was unlike Oscar that he wasn't as perfectly organized or punctual, but at the same time he possessed a belief that honor and duty to others took precedence above all else, even his own life. He was a good kid, though Ike found it difficult to picture him becoming a trained fighter like Boyd or a knight like Oscar. His size did not help that image either. He was quite small for his age, not even as tall as Mist was yet. But Oscar often said that their family's growth spurts never occurred until after sixteen years, and when it did come they shot up. Ike had only recently caught back up to Boyd. Perhaps Rolf was better off just being a regular citizen who could make something of himself outside of mercenary work.

"Hello, Rolf," Ike said with a kind smile though still keeping a small expression of surprise on his face. He had not expected to find the boy out so early in the morning. The sun hadn't risen over the horizon even an hour ago, and Ike usually spent at least another hour or so sleeping before waking up prior to becoming a mercenary. Not just that, but Rolf even seemed wide awake, as if he had been up for hours already. A small amount of sweat also clung to his forehead, which made no sense sense the air had not yet warmed up from the previous night. "What are you doing up so early?"

Rolf's smile vanished for a split second as his viridian eyes darted away nervously. Not soon after though, he was looking right back at Ike again with a renewed smile, albeit a tad bit nervous one. "Oh, I…uh…just woke up a little earlier than usual this morning and couldn't get back to sleep."

Ike's right eyebrow rose suspiciously after the obvious lie. Rolf wasn't the kind of kid to just openly fib to others. If there was a reason for why he was hiding the truth, then Ike wouldn't push for it.

"So, this is your first day as a mercenary, isn't it?" Rolf asked as he took a spot next to Ike and began walking with the older swordsman toward the dining hall.

"That's right," Ike said nodding. "It'll probably be tough, but as long as I have comrades like your brothers fighting by my side, I have nothing to worry about."

"Just don't get hurt out there," Rolf said next, this time sounding a little more somber. "Sometimes I wish I was stronger so that I could help you guys out with the missions, but all I can do is just stay here and wait for you guys to come home. It was bad enough worrying about my brothers and Shinon…but now you too…"

Ike's smile fell a slight bit. He knew quite well the feeling of helplessness as others you cared about were out fighting for their lives. It had driven him insane ever since the company had first been formed and he had forgotten that his absence would cause both Rolf and even Mist more apprehension…

"Don't you worry about a thing," Ike said reassuringly, clasping a hand on the boy's shoulder. "My father wouldn't be sending me out there if he didn't think I was ready. You just be sure to keep care of the fort while I'm away. Now that I'm off doing missions, you'll be the man holding down the fort from now on."

This statement seemed to be the right thing to say, as Rolf's depressed features softened slightly as he gave a sad grin back at Ike. "Just remember that Mist will kill you if you ever hurt yourself."

"Don't worry, I know that well enough," Ike said with a chuckle. When the two finally reached the dining hall, they both gave one last farewell before they parted ways, with Rolf heading back to the living quarters of the fort.

Turning back to the door, Ike softly rapped his fist against it. After hearing a confirmation that he could enter, the blue haired swordsman pushed open the door. He was wearing his usual garb that he wore everyday, but this time an iron sword was strapped to his side in his sheathe in place of a wooden sword, the exact same one that he had practiced the previous night with. For the first time, Ike could understand why Boyd would always keep a hand on his own axe at his side. The blade felt like a badge of honor, a testament to his hard work and skill. Now that he had achieved that long and arduous goal of becoming a mercenary, it was hard to not feel some pride out of it.

Inside the room, standing beside each other next to the center table were Greil and deputy commander Titania, still engrossed in a conversation about the coming day. When the red maned knight's eyes finally gazed over toward Ike, she smiled happily, giving him a greeting nod which Ike returned back.

"I'm here for my mission," Ike stated simply as he walked up to the two. It wasn't until he had spoken up did his father finally turn his attention toward his son. Ike was shocked to find that his father seemed absolutely devoid of any and all fatigue from their previous night's training session. Though it had not been long, the overall lack of sleep from the previous night left Ike more than a little groggy that morning. Yet Greil seemed just as attentive as ever, looking straight at Ike sternly while still in thought.

"Good morning, Ike," Titania said cheerfully while still smiling at the young man. "So your father has finally let you take part in a job, huh?"

"That's right," Ike said, nodding back once again. Titania was the first member to be recruited into the Greil mercenaries, and Ike couldn't even recall back far enough to a time when he had not known her. When his mother had died years ago, Titania had taken over as a kind of mother figure to Mist and to him as well. Unfortunately, he could still remember small bits and pieces of his mother's life, which kept her on a pedestal that Titania could unfortunately never reach. Mist, on the other hand, was around the axe knight most with the exception of Rolf. The two were as close as any mother or daughter could be, and Ike was grateful for that. She had always been there for the three of them. For Ike, Mist, and even Greil on a few occasions. He and his family owed her a lot, and he was honored that he now had the privilege to call her his comrade in arms.

"I can hardly believe it," Titania said with a deep sigh, leaning a hand on the table beside her as if to support herself. "It seems as if it was only yesterday that you first picked up a wooden sword and was swinging it around the fort against imaginary enemies."

Ike turned slightly red when he saw his father flash a smirk over in his direction, but it disappeared quickly before Titania could spot it.

"You're right; he's not that same boy. But he's still nearly just as irresponsible as one," Greil said strictly. "Everyone else was ready for the day as soon as the sun was above the tree line. Tardiness could result in not only your life, but even your teammates'. From now on I expect you to be out of bed just as early as everyone else."

"Yes sir, I'll make sure of it," Ike replied obediently back.

"Titania and I are discussing today's missions together. You can go and wait outside until we're done," Greil said. It was one of those statements that could only be described as an order over a request. Knowing that there was no real reason to stay in the room, Ike nodded politely to his father and Titania both before turning his back and making his way out the door.

It seemed though that someone had been waiting for him on the other side.

"How you doing, Rookie!" a voice boomed as soon as he opened the door to the outside world. After recovering from the sudden explosion of noise, Ike was finally able to identify that it had originated from Boyd, who stood outside with his usual silly grin, leaning on the side of the building with his arm.

Beside Boyd, wearing green armor that matched well with his hair and tending to his mare was Oscar, who gave Ike a courteous wave from behind his brother. Beside his own horse was Titania's own white stallion, standing much higher and looking much stronger than Oscar's own steed. "I'd tell you good morning Ike, but I believe my brother has given you one that will suffice for everyone else in the country this morning," Oscar said with an even wider grin than before. Boyd looked sourly back at his sibling but didn't say anything. The two were well known for picking fun at each other throughout the day. Judging by Boyd's lack of retort, it seemed that Oscar had won this bout.

While Boyd was the most carefree of the three brothers, Oscar would be considered the most responsible and composed of the three. He signed with the Greil mercenaries a little over a year after his father had established the group. When he joined, he had brought his two brothers with him. When they did arrive though, all three of them seemed to deliberately avoid the subject about their pasts. No matter which of the brothers it was, whenever the topic arose it would be answered with a quick and vague answer followed up with an immediate change of subject. None of them talked often about their family or past, but Ike had a feeling by how they reacted when it was accidentally brought up that the three of them had seen plenty of rough times. All Ike was aware of was that Oscar had previously been employed to the Crimean Knights before he became a mercenary. He apparently left the higher paying occupation to care for his younger siblings when he was needed. It was because of this that Ike held Oscar in such high regard. It wasn't everyday that one met another with such dedication toward his family. He had a feeling that his father knew more on the subject, but refused to ever speak about it, saying that it was none of his business.

"So Ike," Oscar said, leaning his arm on his mare and turning so he fully faced Ike. "Commander Greil has finally given you permission to join in on a mission. Well congratulations! I'm just happy that I'll have someone else out there watching out for a certain cocky brother of mine when I'm not around. I'm sure that you won't be nearly as reckless as he."

"Hey, I'm careful when I fight!" Boyd said back, crossing his arms.

"Oh? And what about that one time where you were so anxious on one mission that you slipped in some mud and nearly fell on your ax. You were lucky that Titania was around or that brigand would have cleaved your hot blooded head right off."

"Oh come on, Oscar!" Boyd shouted even louder this time as Ike's smile continued to grow wider. He was enjoying the change of contrast compared to how Mist had humiliated himself about being knocked out in front of Boyd. He swore, sometimes it seemed like the two were a tag team in humiliating him. Of course, he couldn't say Oscar and Rolf weren't guilty of doing the same thing to Boyd.

"So, how are you feeling this morning?" Oscar asked curiously.

"Actually, I'm pretty calm," Ike admitted. "Though I did spend most of last night lying awake in my bed and staring at the ceiling. I'm surprised that I'm not as anxious now as I was then. Maybe I drained all of my energy worrying last night."

"Whatever the reason," Oscar said reassuringly, "you can take comfort that the rest of the Greil Mercenaries will be there watching your back. Just make sure that you'll be watching ours out there too."

"Thanks. Though I kind of think it hard to believe that Shinon will actually be there keeping an eye out for me," Ike said with a wry half smile.

At this comment Oscar's smile dropped only by a small amount. "Well…maybe he will eventually. You never know," he replied with an optimistic shrug.

Just then the door to the mess hall opened from behind Ike and Titania stepped out into the sun. Her white armor glistened in the sunlight as she beamed at each of the young men in front of her. "Ah, Oscar. I'm glad to see that I'm still able to count on you to have everything ready for when we leave. And I see that you even got your brother up on time for once as well."

While Ike's father was for the most part his primary instructor, Ike would consider Titania Boyd's. It wasn't long after the brothers had joined the company that Boyd made the decision that he would aspire to be a mercenary as well. Greil eventually agreed with his wishes since he was already a strong boy. All he had needed was some training, and sense Greil was too busy with the combination of running the company and training Ike, he had been put him under Titania's guidance for combat instruction. It was for this reason that Boyd's weapon of choice was an ax, though Ike could honestly not think of a better weapon for him. Because of the time they had spent together, Boyd had also developed the same mother-son relationship that Ike and Mist shared with Titania. Boyd made no secret though that he often dreaded their training sessions together. Though they had clearly done their job well, Titania's training was infamously rigorous and brutal, rivaling even Ike's father's.

"You don't have to worry about me slacking off anymore!" Boyd said with a bark like laugh and slinging his arm around Ike's shoulders. "After all, I need to set a good example for Ike so that he can have someone that he can look up to. Who knows Ike, maybe you'll become a topnotch mercenary like myself someday!"

"We'll see," Ike said with a challenging smile in return, shaking Boyd's arm off of him.

"Alright you two, that's enough goofing around," Titania said strictly as she graciously took the reigns of her horse from Oscar. "The four of us have been assigned as a team for one of the missions. Commander Greil, Shinon, and Gatrie are taking care of the other two. The one that we are to take care of is requested from the town Caldea, just a few miles south from here. It seems that it has recently become overrun by some bandits and they are causing quite a ruckus."

"How skilled are they?" Oscar questioned.

"As you may probably know, Caldea is made up of mostly farmland with barely even a hundred citizens. As such, they don't have much of a militia. The bandits are mostly causing more damage to property than to civilians, so we have reasons to believe that their bark may be more than their bite. It seems to be a fairly standard assignment, but I don't want any of you getting careless out there. Let's just get there, finish the job, and then leave with a job well done."

The three younger mercenaries nodded simultaneously in response to Titania's instructions. After mounting her horse, Titania made some last moment checks that they had all of the equipment they needed and then set out of the fort, taking only a moment to wave a quick goodbye to Mist and Rolf as they past by.

Most of the journey was made in silence. Titania took the lead and was followed closely by Oscar, both keeping their horses at a slow pace to not strain either Ike or Boyd to keep up. Ike knew that Caldea was a good three hour trek on foot. If each of them had horses they probably could have made it in a little more than an hour, but due to lack of funds, they made due without them.

To pass the time, Ike spent most of the trip just gazing about around him, taking in the scenery and his other surroundings. Winter had only ended just a month ago, so the air was a little frigid as it had not yet warmed back up completely from last night. The trees around him had only recently started growing their leaves again, leaving a couple bare branches in trees and bushes alike, which occasionally scrapped at his shoulders as he passed them by. Nevertheless, the sky overhead was no longer filled with the gray clouds of winter. The sun shone brightly, giving Ike momentary chances to warm up whenever a beam of light escaped through the trees over him. The sky was a bright shade of blue, with hardly any clouds to obstruct its vastness. It was hard to believe that on such a perfect looking day, he would have to go into battle on a job.

He had been told several times by both his father and Titania that their home country, Crimea, consisted of the most beautiful countrysides of the entire continent. Ike himself had never himself been outside of the country, at least not to his own knowledge, so he couldn't make and opinion of the matter. With the exception of what few memories he had left of his mother which he made a conscious effort to keep safe, there was very little that he could actually remember about his childhood. In fact, there were some things that Mist, despite being several years younger than him, could remember easily that Ike could not recall in the slightest. The majority of his memories were those at the mercenary fort with his father and sister. He did know that they had not always lived at their current residence, but that was mostly the extent of how far his memory goes and he could not recall in the slightest where they had traveled from.

Now that he thought about it, his general knowledge about the other countries were limited as well. Ike was by no means uneducated, but he often had a habit of forgetting what few lessons he received from his father and Titania and focused more on his swordsmanship. He of course knew of their names and their residence. He was also very aware of the laguz tribes that took residence in Gallia, Kilvas, and Phoenicis. Exactly which tribe called which country its home, he was not completely sure of. His belief was that such things didn't matter much to a mercenary, despite his father's lectures on how valuable knowledge is. Ike didn't have any interests in country origins, economics, or politics in the slightest. His friend who was currently studying with another mercenary company, Soren, was more informed than he. Perhaps he would inquire more about the subject when he returned to the company. Then again…he'll figure it out eventually.

The entire journey dragged on uneventfully, the four mercenaries only striking up a conversation every moment or so when the silence became a little too uncomfortable. Finally though, Titania turned her horse slightly to block the road in front of them. Oscar pulled slightly on his own steed's reigns to stop and Ike and Boyd exchanged glances before stepping beside Oscar.

"Caldea is only a little further down this path," Titania explained. Sure enough, when Ike looked past her, he could spot through the trees a couple modest houses just at the forest's edge. "I'll take the lead. I want to see if there is any other way to resolve this issue outside of force. But I want all of you to stay on your guard. There's no telling how these men are going to react to our presence. Keep a sharp lookout and be ready to draw your weapons if needed."

"Will do," Oscar said with a smile, already releasing the spear hooked onto the side of his horse and holding it in his right hand. Ike found it strange at times that one with as kind and gentle of face as Oscar's could be so fierce with a lance.

Titania gave her fellow knight a quick nod before turning her attention back to Ike. Though stern, he could still sense the underlying flicker of concern in her eyes as well as she looked at him. "This is going to be your first campaign, Ike. Oscar and Boyd are already aware of this, but as deputy commander any and all orders that I may give are to be followed without question. My job here is to assure the safety of both ourselves and the villagers at all costs. I don't want anything going wrong on your first mission…"

"You can count on me, Titania," Ike said reassuringly back.

"That's what I expected you to say," she responded back with a smile, turning her horse once again to head down the road. "But I know you Ike, you're just as hard headed and stubborn as your father at times. I just don't want that hard head to get you in trouble."

"Don't worry, Titania!" Boyd said, giving her the thumbs up sign. "I'll be sure to watch out for Ike personally. Nothing's going to befall our new rookie on my watch."

"I don't need a babysitter," Ike complained to both Titania and Boyd.

"Still, it may be better if you do stick by Boyd for this mission. Just for this mission so you can get acquainted with how things work. If we have nothing else to worry about…Greil Mercenaries, move out."

Oscar, Boyd, and Ike both nodded silently back as they began to follow Titania into the town. It didn't take long for Ike to tell exactly why they had been called there. Homes and stands for marketing alike were in absolute shambles. The ones that weren't destroyed had their windows shut and lights out, though Ike could immediately feel the weight of many eyes falling on him as soon as he walked into Caldea. Inspecting further, he noted that it seemed that no one had even bothered to try and repair or clean up the damages that had been done to the town. He spotted a turned over apple cart down the road that still had its fruits spread out across the ground, though some seemed to have been half eaten, their cores thrown to the ground carelessly.

"Slightly worse than I expected," Titania said, looking around at the town as well. "Though not as bad as others I've seen. It's no wonder why we've been called here. Keep a sharp eye out…"

"Hey! Ya four!"

Ike's hand gripped the iron sword that was in his sheathe tightly, turning his attention to his right. Standing across from him with an axe resting on his shoulder was a very large man, nearly a foot taller than either Ike or Boyd. From down the road, his beady eyes darted from the four of them and then to their weapons, eyeing them suspiciously.

"I'd advise ya to get on outta here," the man said, gripping his axe tightly. "You ain't welcome in this here town. The only thing that you'll cause here is trouble…"

"By the looks of this town of yours, it seems that trouble has become a problem long before our arrival," Titania responded. Her voice was firm and proud, but she did not grasp her own axe in response. "We are the Greil Mercenaries!" she warned the man. "Inform your leader that he and any that follow him are commanded to leave this town at once. We wish to avoid a conflict here if it can be helped. Leave and you will go unharmed."

The man burst laughing at Titania's commands, seeming to find the remarks hilarious. Ike's hard scowl hardened in the direction of the man. "You aren't familiar with our little ragtag bunch now, are you?" he bellowed back at them, placing the arm that didn't grip is axe to his large stomach. "You see, we don't hurt nobody. Not if there ain't trouble or nothin'. All we do is show up in a town, spend some time there fer a month or so, then move on and go onto the next one. This ain't the first time that we've 'visited' this shit hole anyways. They know the drill, why do you think there ain't no one out to oppose us?"

"I believe I know exactly how your group works," Titania scowled back. "You take a town hostage and not allow anyone to leave their houses. It doesn't matter if they need to go to the bathroom or need a doctor for a serious injury. They are not to leave their houses under any circumstances. While they are tucked away and not giving you trouble, you exhaust every resource that they have. By the time you're done, the people are in bad enough shape as it is for lack of food and water, but you also leave them nothing to sustain themselves. Your axes may not be causing deaths here, but rest assured you are causing more pain and suffering than you could possibly be aware of!"

"Watch yer mouth," the man growled, suddenly looking much more violent after Titania's speech.

"…And let's not forget to mention the women here." Titania's voice had gone down to a near whisper, just loud enough for the man across from them to hear. "Tell me, how many of them have you defiled…?" Her axe was then in her hand, raised up and pointed in the bandit's direction.

The brigand did not reply this time, only staring at Titania in hot rage. "Well then, it's too bad that it has to come to this," he finally spoke, giving an insignificant hand gesture in their direction.

"It's a trap!" Titania shouted suddenly, understanding the gesture

Two men suddenly leapt out from behind a bush that was beside them, ambushing the group. Oscar and Titania's horses each reared back, caught by surprise from the sudden appearance. Thinking fast, Boyd leapt out of the way of one of the bandit's axe swings and tackled him to the ground, becoming entangled in a wrestling match. The other brigand ran at Ike. Still caught off guard, Ike hastily drew his sword while sidestepping the man's strikes. Leaping forward again, the large man raised his axe high over his head, no doubt with full intent to take Ike's head clean off of his shoulders. Ike's arm reacted far sooner than his brain did. One powerful swipe of his sword later, the air turned crimson.

The man howled in agony, clutching the bloody stump that had been his axe hand. He whimpered pathetically as he dropped to his knees and looked at his dismembered arm lying on the blood stained ground. A moment later, his whimpers suddenly became a furious bellow as he grabbed his fallen axe with his other remaining hand, rushing at Ike. The swordsman though was easily able to dodge the brigand's attacks, being completely blinded by both pain and rage. Bringing his sword up again, he sliced into the man's stomach, once again littering the ground with blood. The man looked down once more, watching his blood drain out of his body, and then finally collapsed to the ground, moving no more.

For a moment, Ike just stared down at the man's body with his sword still gripped in his hand. He looked over to Boyd just in time to see his old friend snap his opponent's neck with his bare hands. Ike turned his eyes back to the man who they had been addressing just moments ago, still staring down at his fallen comrades at their feet.

"…We're under attack!" he finally yelled, turning back to the village. "Alert Boss Zawana! We're under attack by merc-"

His sentence was cut short as an axe whizzed by Ike's head and sunk deep into the mans back. The man doubled over for a moment, and then also collapsed to the ground like his comrades. Turning back, Ike saw Titania staring at the bandit with cold, green eyes, her arm still outstretched from throwing her axe.

"Ike," she said calmly to him. "I can't reach that far down while atop of my horse. Would you be able to fetch it for me, please?"

Ike nodded silently back before looking back one last time at the man that he had felled. He had been taken by surprise. He had expected many things for the time when he would inevitably see someone die before him. He had thought it once to maybe frighten him, to see a life snuffed out. He even thought that maybe he would become nauseous from the experience. But instead…he found himself feeling near nothing. If anything, he felt slightly numb. There was also the slight notion that this was not a new experience…almost as if this was not the first time he had seen someone die. But that could not be. There was no chance that he would ever forget experiencing something like that. But even so, why did this feel so familiar?

Still lost in his thoughts, he walked over to the man that Titania's axe was buried in and grabbed the hilt of her axe. With a sickening squelching sound, he pulled it loose from the man's spine and looked at it, wondering if he should wipe off the blood on the ground before giving it to her.

"Thank you, Ike," Titania said kindly as she took her axe, bringing out a red handkerchief from one of her pouches and wiping the blood clean from her blade. Ike wondered for a moment whether the handkerchief had always been red.

"I presume that a peaceful solution to this situation has become out of reach," Oscar said solemnly, having finally been able to control his steed again. He took his spear and thrust it into the man on the ground's flesh, double checking that he was dead. With a satisfied nod, he yanked it out of the brigand and turned back to Titania.

"It seems that way," she said back with a nod. She turned back to the three young men accompanying her and then around at the village. "…Alright, there's no telling how many more of those men are still around. These sort of men are too cowardly to do this sort of thing with small numbers…I'm estimating perhaps five to eight more men that are still needed to be taken care of. We'll get the job done faster if we split up. I'll take the west part of the village. Oscar, you'll go east. Ike and Boyd, you two will take the north part of the village. Now I'm going to remind you this only once more…don't get over your heads. If worse comes to worse, fall back and regroup with the rest of the company. _No heroics_."

"Got it," Ike said back.

"Don't you worry about a thing, Titania," Boyd said cheerfully, seemingly not at all aware of the bloody nose that he had received during his brawl with the brigand he had killed. "You have nothing to worry about when me and Ike team up. Just you watch, we'll be the best duo since Shinon and Gatrie."

"You have a lot to live up to then," Oscar said, still smiling at Boyd below him. "Just be sure to heed her advice, Boyd."

"Yeah, yeah, worry wart," Boyd said waving his arm back at his older brother. "Let's just get this job over with already."

With one last exchange of nods, the four mercenaries set out to their assigned sections of the village. To Ike's surprise, he and Boyd could find no trouble at all as they continued to sneak their way down the road. Each corner he poked around, he found nothing. The two made sure to be constantly aware of where the other was, ready to leap to each other's aid at a moment's notice. The same pointless destruction that they had seen when they had first arrived to the village continued as they traveled farther in. Ike regularly spotted several broken windows in many houses, and some of them even had their very doors savagely hacked down to gain entry. At one point, Ike could have sworn that he saw a small face peek out from one of the windows, but it quickly disappeared into the darkness once more before he could catch a good look at the figure. The silence was enough to realize just how terrified the villagers were of the bandits, and perhaps even mistakenly him as well.

As time wore on, Boyd's nose finally stopped bleeding, but Ike couldn't help but think that it was slightly more crooked than usual. When he had asked about it, Boyd replied calmly that if there was anything wrong with it, Rhys would be able to fix it up in no time when they got back. Ike took his word for it. Ike had gone to Rhys himself on a number of occasions to fix up some injuries he had received while training with his father.

"Alright, Gus, you're with me!"

Ike and Boyd quickly ducked into a side ally way and waited in the shadows as they heard the voice. Hesitating for only a moment, Ike slowly peeked out from where he was hidden and took a look. Not much farther down the road was the biggest house that Ike had seen yet within the village. It also seemed to be the most destroyed he had seen as well. In front of it was a man that was even larger than any of the three men that they had fought at the front of the village. He had dark, forest green hair that was brushed backwards and his puckered lips seemed a slightly too large for the rest of his face. Even at this distance, Ike could notice the beady eyes of the man. Strapped to his side were both a sword and an axe, though he rested his hand on the later of the two weapons. Beside him was another man with an axe who was slightly shorter than the first, though he was still by no means small in any sense of the word. Only two men…after defeating three of them at once, it shouldn't be too difficult.

He turned his head as he felt a tap on his shoulder. Boyd silently began going through some basic hand gestures that his father had taught each of them in case words became too dangerous to speak. The first two were decoy and flank, pointing at himself. Next he pointed at Ike, signaling stay, wait, and ambush. Ike nodded in understanding. Nodding back, Boyd quietly slipped down the alleyway and disappeared around the corner.

"You saw them get cut down with your own eyes?" the largest man asked the other. Ike supposed by the way that the other two men were speaking that he was the leader.

"Well, no. But I saw their bodies right by the town entrance and ran here as fast as my legs could carry me. Dead, all three of them. I didn't have to get any closer to tell that much. Three more of our men are out who-knows-where as well. They could be dead too," the henchmen replied back.

"Curse the Goddess for our bad luck," the leader shouted angrily. "We may have to cut our fun a little early to make our escape if-"

A sudden crashing of wood shushed him, causing the leader to turn his head over to where the sound had come from. Without even uttering at command, the shorter of the two men rushed over in the direction of the crashing. Ike's heart began to race rapidly as soon as he heard the sound as well. If that sound had been Boyd, then they, needlessly said, would be at a serious disadvantage. Boyd was good, but Ike wasn't sure that he was good enough to take on two angry and desperate men by himself. Would he be able to hold out long enough for Ike to make it too him to give him some decent back up? For once, Ike wished that Shinon was around. With his bow, he'd be able to take down any number of men from this distance. No sense in wishing for what was not so though, Ike realized.

A moment before Ike darted out from around the corner, the man came back out with his prisoner. Ike froze when he saw that it wasn't Boyd. It was a man, probably only a few years older than he and Boyd, but much shorter than either of them. The bandit had a firm grip on each of his wrists, not allowing him to use his arms in any way. Though the man seemed to be trying to get away, it was apparent that he wasn't going anywhere.

"Found him snooping in the back alley," the man said, grabbing their prisoner's head and yanking it up so the leader would be able to get a good look at him.

"...I was just trying to find some food," Ike was barely able to catch from the man. His voice was shaking in so much fear that Ike could hardly understand him.

"Right," the leader said, unsheathing the sword from his side and taking a small step forward. The man suddenly stopped struggling as soon as the blade came up to his neck, though his shaking became much more violent. Ike narrowed his eyes slightly. Even from this far, he could tell that the way that the man was holding the sword was the complete opposite of what it should be. It looked more like he was holding a broom instead of a lethal weapon. Did he even know how to use a sword?

"He may be a part of that mercenary group that's come to attack us," one of the men said, ignoring the frantic head shaking from the villager.

"Hmm…you think?"

"Yeah, I actually think I saw someone enter the village that looked like him. He probably ditched his sword in that ally hoping we wouldn't mess with him. Too bad we're too smart for that."

"Well, we know how to treat heroes like you," the leader said sneering. "Sorry if you really aren't one of them, guy, but we can't take any chances. You understand, right?" The bandit holding onto the man's arms suddenly kicked him down to the ground and placed a boot on his back, not allowing him to stand again. Looming above him, the leader sneered savagely as he raised his blade over his head with the obvious intention to cut the other man's head off.

This wasn't good. Ike couldn't bring himself to stand around any longer. "Stop!" he yelled, jumping out from his hiding spot. All three of the men turned in his direction suddenly, each halting what they had been doing. "He's not one of us!" Ike yelled. "Let him go!"

"…Well, Jon, looks like you were right. There was someone hiding out here," the bandit with his foot on the man's back said with a dark chuckle, removing his boot from the man's body. Ike's blood suddenly ran cold as the man who had once been pinned on the ground stood back up with a snide sneer on his face, taking the sword from the leader with his outstretched hand.

"I thought that these kids were soft hearts. I saw this one snooping around farther down the road…good thing I got to you guys before he did. So boss…what you want us to do with him?" the man asked, his attitude doing a complete one-eighty from before. "Can I kill him? Oh, please, can I kill him?"

"Just get rid of him and make it quick. Let's not waste anymore time than we already have."

"Got it, boss," the two men said in unison, dashing forward in Ike's direction.

Ike prepared his blade as the two men approached. Things were not looking good. Most of his practice sessions he spent with his father focused on one on one duels with usually no outside interference from others. He had only practiced that sort of scenario when someone like Titania had some free time on their hands to help out. He would have to make due with what he knew though and hold out while he could…the fake hostage hadn't said anything about Boyd while talking to the leader. Maybe they don't know about him yet…

The swordsman got to Ike first. Needlessly said, his attacks were much quicker than the ones from the brigand that he had fought at the entrance of the village. Their blades struck each other with as much force as each could muster, pushing each other back until they both retreated backwards from the strain. Before he could launch a counter attack, Ike had to duck out of the way of the axeman's attack this time. He was caught by surprise though when the bandit's fist suddenly rose up and caught him straight in the jaw, causing Ike to just barely keep his balance and stay on his feet. If he was on the ground, he would be as good as dead while facing two enemies.

Again, the man with the axe charged at Ike with his axe raised over his head. Ike was about to make a counter attack, but froze as a large figure dropped out from the sky, landing behind the bandit. Before he could react, the man's body went rigid as Boyd's axe sank deep into his spine. Ike realized that Boyd must have made his way to the roof of one of the nearby houses to make his sneak attack. Boyd had always been good at performing surprisingly unorthodox, yet at the same time effective, methods of attack. With one last gasp of breath, the bandit dropped his axe and collapsed to the ground in a heap.

Ike's eye darted to the swordsman, who was still staring down at his comrade in disbelief from the sudden attack. Charging as fast as he could, Ike thrust his sword just in time before the myrmidon could react, sinking his blade deep into the man's gut. Ike quickly brought up his boot and kicked the man off of his sword, not even taking the time to watch him fall to the ground. Now there was but one man left, the leader himself. He glared at both Ike and Boyd, his knuckles whitening around the grip of his axe.

"You think you two are so tough, eh?" he shouted, brandishing his axe. "I'll show you maggots! I am Zawana the Bear, the most powerful man you'll ever meet in your lifetime! Run while you still have the chance, whelps!"

"You have no idea how many times I've heard that stupid speech," Boyd said with a sigh and shaking his head. "Hey, Ike. Why don't we take this brute on together? Sound like a plan? …Bet I can take him down before you can."

"Sure, whatever you say, Boyd," Ike said with a grin. "Oh, and you're on."

Zawana let out a barbaric battle cry as he charged forward toward Boyd and Ike who both prepared themselves for the attack. Just as Zawana was upon them, they both separated from each other, out of reach of their opponent's attack. Ike bounced back and swung his sword downward, but was surprised to find that it was blocked by the other man's axe. Apparently he did have some skill after all. Ike withdrew his sword and attempted another strike, but his weapon was once again batted away by his opponent's superior strength.

Boyd suddenly ran by him and attempted a strike of his own, but their opponent spun around him with astonishing speed and making a swipe toward Boyd as well, who side stepped around the attack. He was once again caught by surprise though when the brigand's boot caught him in the gut, sending him tumbling backwards.

With his opponent's back turned, Ike saw his chance. With as much speed as he could muster, he dashed forward toward the brigand who was looming over Boyd who was still recovering from the unexpected kick. If Ike didn't get there in time, it would be over for Boyd.

Just as the bandit leader raised his hand over his head to bring it down on Boyd, Ike let out a fierce cry and sank his blade into the brigand's back, digging it in far enough so that it was visible from his chest. The bandit let out a choked, startled cry as the blade sank into his flesh, watching the bloody blade slide out of the opposite end of his body. With one final curse to both Boyd and Ike, the bandit fell limply to the ground, bringing with him Ike's sword which was still lodged within him.

Ike's breath was heavy as he looked down at the bandit that he had slain. Looking over at Boyd, he found his friend with an expression that seemed to be a combination of surprise, gratefulness, and awe. Walking over to him, Ike offered his hand to Boyd which he thankfully grasped back, rising to his feet.

"Ike! Boyd!"

The two young mercenaries turned in unison as Titania galloped up to them with Oscar close behind her. Small patches of blood splattered Titania's armor, but none of it seemed to be hers as she seemed completely uninjured. Oscar was in the same state, his lance still at the ready in case of an ambush.

"I see that the two of you have had your hands full," Titania said, looking at each of the fallen bandits in turn.

"More than you know, Titania!" Boyd said, tucking his axe back into the leather sheath at his side. "That big guy right there, that's the leader. Me and Ike took him down together."

"You mean I took him down. You were too busy being dazed underneath him to do anything," Ike said back with a sly grin.

"Now _that _I believe," Oscar said with a chuckle while Boyd looked at Ike in frustration.

"Are you sure that he's the leader of the bandits?" Titania asked, jumping off of her steed and kneeling next to the bandit who still had Ike's blade protruding from his back, checking if he still had a pulse.

"He was giving those other two orders a little while ago," Ike explained, motioning to the other two mercenaries.

"Well, good," Titania said nodding. "Without proper leadership, the rest of the bandits will most likely retreat back to their base. They're all alike in that way."

"So you mean that our mission is complete?" Ike asked.

Titania let out a light chuckle toward Ike and nodded over at him. "That's right Ike, your first mission has ended not only as a complete success, but you also made it so by slaying the bandit leader. Not bad to say the least."

"Not bad at all," Oscar said approvingly, offering his hand to Ike which he shook gratefully. "Congrats on your first completed mission, Ike. Now you really are a full fledged member of the Greil Mercenaries. I'm just sorry that I had missed your performance just now. It looks like it had been really something."

"Eh, it was alright," Boyd said slapping Ike on the back in friendly congratulations. "Just so you know though, I took down that other big guy right there when _Ike _was ambushed. Make sure to remember that I was the one who saved your sorry ass before you took that big guy out. You owe me one now, rookie."

"But then I saved yours right after that by killing the leader when he was about to hack off your head. Doesn't that make us even?"

Boyd stood dumbstruck for a moment, seeming to have forgotten about said recent event. With a sigh, he shrugged back reluctantly and offered Ike his hand, which the blue haired swordsman shook. "Alright then, Ike. We're even for now. Just don't go getting yourself in trouble a habit. I'm not always going to be around to save you."

"Same," Ike said back, gripping Boyd's hand which his friend returned. With a final nod, Boyd walked toward his brother and began discussing with him how the mission had ended.

"Ike," Titania said, bringing his attention to her. When he looked over, he suddenly felt some slight worry. The paladin's usual gentle eyes had hardened slightly as she beckoned him over. With only a moment's hesitation, he made his way toward her. "Boyd said just now that you had been ambushed and he had to 'save you'. Care to explain?"

Ike's feeling of accomplishment suddenly diminished in a heartbeat. Why did Boyd have to mention that part of their battle? Though he definitely wished that he could find a way to let the matter go, he knew that it was impossible and obediently related the battle to Titania, as well as his mistake with the swordsman's identity.

"I see," she said when he was finished with his story. Instead of scolding him as she usually did though, she instead raised her gloved hand and placed it on his shoulder, squeezing it in reassurance. "I don't think that we need to tell your father that part of the story about your first mission." Ike had never felt more grateful toward Titania in his life. He opened his mouth to voice his thanks, but he was stopped when she lifted her hand off of his arm and put it in front of her with her palm towards him, silencing him. "But just know Ike, this was exactly what I meant when I told no one to be a hero. If I hadn't assigned Boyd to go with you, who knows how this would have ended up. I expect you to act more responsible in the future. If something like this happens again, I can't guarantee that I'll be there to vouch for you. Next time, it could be Shinon who learns of your mistake, and you know exactly how forgiving he is."

Ike knew that in his case, he had a better chance of Shinon giving up archery than him letting Ike slide by with a mistake. The swordsman nodded back in understanding, which Titania returned, her soft and gentle smile once again returning. "To be completely honest," she continued as she beckoned him to follow towards the entrance of the village where they usually collected their award, "I'm pretty impressed at how much you've matured in your swordsmanship. You really are your father's soon after all.

"I've still got such a long ways to go though," he responded back, turning his eyes to the ground. "I need to keep getting stronger until I can defeat him."

"Well, that's asking for a lot. Especially considering how he's-" Titania suddenly stopped herself I mid sentence, which Ike took immediate attention of.

"Huh? What about my father?" he asked. It wasn't as if this was information that he needed or anything. It was just that a small, childish part of him was still curious as to his father's heritage and past. Wasn't that the kind of information anyone would want to know?

"Oh sorry, Ike," Titania said with a nervous chuckle. "Just don't worry about it for now."

Ike was half tempted to pursue the subject further, but he already knew that it was foolhardy to do such. If Titania didn't want to talk about it, then that meant that she wasn't going to. She was without a doubt the strongest woman he had ever met, so she would keep her secrets if she wanted to. Not to mention that he didn't want her to reconsider covering for him when they got back. He'd learn in time. He'd just have to wait for the opportune moment, and he'll eventually learn…

* * *

_And there you have it folks, my second chapter. It was decent enough for perhaps the most uneventful chapter of the entire story._

_Yes, I know that Oscar kind of took a back seat in this chapter. I'm going to try to focus on two or maybe three "minor" FE characters each chapter (this time it was mostly Boyd and Titania). Oscar will get his chance…I've even got a romance partner planned for him (no fangirls, there will be no Oscar/Kieren in this fic)._

_Well then everyone, that's about all I have to say. Tune in next time for another action packed (for the most part) chapter of Fire Emblem! See you then._

_GAZ_


End file.
